1 An unmarried mother gave birth in a stable, some saw a fulfilment of all they had heard, to others this story, the birth of the Godhead, was more than amazing, was frankly absurd. 2 Some delved into scripture and said that a virgin, was destined to carry a child who would grow to be a Messiah, salvation for nations, and others would question how history could know. 3 So back to the story, now Bethlehem beckons, a carpenter-pawn come to sign for the state, the bureaucrats needing a list for taxation and everyone hurries before it's too late. 4 A legend would grow up of shepherds and magi, no snow at this Christmas beneath a night's sky. A man who would die as a crucified preacher was born with sparse shelter as people passed by. 5 And so came the story of birth in a stable, of Bethlehem's journey, a virgin and child. And lost is the essence, the mystery and wonder, of God born among us abused and reviled. 6 Much later a soldier saw God in this prophet a man who would love to his very last breath the dying, the hopeless, those outside religion, and all those beside who had shared in his death. Andrew E Pratt (born 1948) © 2018 Stainer and Bell Ltd. 12 11 12 11 Tune: STREETS OF LAREDO; ST CATHERINES COURT
Tag: Hymn
Am I creation’s keeper Poem/hymnWritten 13/9/2020 while watching David Attenborough’s broadcast – ‘Extinction: The Facts’
Am I creation’s keeper,
a steward of this earth,
a singular vocation,
to measure all its worth?
As humans we must nurture,
the land, the sea, the air,
for all we see around us
is handed to our care.
Yet lost in self-obsession,
not feeding human need,
our greatest occupation,
is meeting human greed;
we cull and kill creation,
exterminate at will,
we hanker and we hunger
for more than just our fill.
The seas become polluted,
the forests burnt or felled,
the air a noxious fluid,
its temperature not held.
The world, unfit for purpose,
destroyed by human choice?
We need to hear the prophets,
to raise up every voice.
No faith or creed or preference,
exceeds our need for life,
this planet, all its value,
will it survive our strife?
When human life has ended,
this home left scarred and torn,
will God not weep with anger,
that we were ever born?
Written 13/9/2020 while watching David Attenborough’s broadcast:
Extinction: The Facts
Andrew Pratt, Words © 2020 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, http://www.stainer.co.uk.
Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
Suggested Tune: SALLY GARDENS
God marks no ending, only new beginnings – Hymn/Poem – Methodist New Year – and other times of change or new-ness or loss
God marks no ending, only new beginnings,
until the consummation of our lives;
God keeps no count of losses, nor of winnings:
we move through grace, the holy spirit thrives.
So as we go beyond this time, this setting,
rememb’ring all the laughter and the tears;
we go with God in faith, so not regretting
the moments shared, the hopes, the dreams, the fears.
Though parted for a while, we travel onward,
not knowing what the future has in store.
This phase will close, the spirit draws us forward,
we’ve tasted love, but God has promised more!
Words © 2006 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, http://www.stainer.co.uk. Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd.
11 10 11 10 Suggested Tune: LORD OF THE YEARS
Cedars of Lebanon – hope for Beirut, and the world in a TIME of COVID-19
Fred Kaan, (1929–2009) a prolific hymn writer and ecumenist once compiled a book of hymns entitled Planting Seeds and Growing Trees. It was based on the Biblical image that that those who risk planting seeds are planting hope for the future in bleak situations. A key text began:
Were the world to end tomorrow,
would we plant a tree today?
Would we till the soil of loving,
kneel to work and rise to pray? Fred Kaan (1929-2009) © 1989 Stainer & Bell Ltd
In the current situation of COVID-19 and the devastating explosion in Beirut (4th August 2020) the following hymn, written for a tree planting, came to mind:
Cedars of Lebanon, oaks of old England,*
elegant poplars along country roads,
trees mark a heritage, hope for the future,
holding our history and bearing our loads.
So at each planting we mark a beginning,
partners with God at this moment in time,
turning the earth with renewed expectation
placing a marker and planting a sign.
Each tree puts value on present and future,
points to this moment of God given grace,
rings out the years through to new generations,
living and worshipping near to this place.
So God we offer our plans for your blessing,
grounded in all you have given and held,
nurture each tree and our lives through our living,
till life’s completion, till all trees are felled;
till we have found in our end our beginning,
purpose of life in the days that you send.
God give us strength for the tasks here before us,
God of our present and God without end.
Andrew E Pratt (born 1948) © 2011 Stainer and Bell Ltd. (*Alt by author)
Might we go on planting seeds and growing trees, planting faith, growing hope.
Hymn for the Day everyday from the 1st – 31st July
Provided by the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland
This coming Wednesday (1st July) marks the beginning of what we hope will prove to be an exciting and innovative project.
As, due to the Corvid-19 virus, we have been unable to hold our annual July Conference, we have, instead, initiated ‘Hymn for the day’.
Throughout July, from the 1st to the 31st, our website will contain a ‘Hymn for the day’. This will comprise the full hymn text of a hymn selected by one of our members. It will be accompanied by a reflection on the words by the person who has selected it. In addition there will, in some cases, be a video link where the hymn and reflection are read by the contributor. Possibly, also, there may be a YouTube connection to the hymn being sung.
As the month progresses, the list will expand until, by 31st July, there will be thirty-one ‘Hymns for the day’. All of them will remain available on our website throughout the whole of August after which, due to copyright considerations for some, they will be taken down.
In these times which, for many, are proving rather difficult and dismal, we hope that this initiative will prove to be interesting, informative and enriching, and an encouragement to log on to our website each day for a ‘Hymn for the day’ to brighten your life!
Our website address is as always:
